A weekly report prepared by the staff of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA). If you require further information, regarding this report, call the Elora Resource Centre at 519-846-0941. Office hours: 8:30am to 4:30pm. For technical information, call the Agricultural Information Contact Centre at 1-877-424-1300 or visit the OMAFRA website: www.ontario.ca/omafra.
SCOUTING FOR SOIL INSECT PESTS IN FIELD CROPS
Insecticide seed treatments have proven to provide effective and efficient protection for soil insects in field crops. As the level of adoption of this technology has increased, there has been a shift from the prescriptive use of insecticide seed treatments to a more prophylactic use. The broader use of insecticide seed treatments increases the risk of exposure to non-target organisms. This shift in approach to the use of insecticide seed treatments increases the need to re-establish an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approach in field crops, where insecticide seed treatments are targeted for use only in those fields deemed at risk of soil insect pest infestations.
IPM is an approach to pest management that integrates all available practices and technologies to keep pest populations below threshold in an economically viable way while minimizing the impact to the environment. Some of the first steps to IPM are to better understand each pest, their life cycle and impact to the crop as well as scouting to assess the risk of these pests so that preventative and cultural measures can be timed appropriately.
Scouting for Confirmation – Scouting is always the best method to determine if fields are actually at risk. Fall scouting can predict spring infestations of both wireworms and grubs since the same population present in the soil in the fall will also be present in the spring.
This is a recommended practice even for those growers with a known history of wireworm and grub infestations. Neonicotinoid seed treatments do not control wireworms or grubs but intoxicate the larvae once they have taken a bite of the treated seed or seedling, causing them to stop feeding long enough for the seedling to get established. The insecticide does not reduce the pest populations and may require the use of the high rate of insecticide if conditions are ideal for pest populations to increase that year.
Additional cultural methods like tillage or adjusting planting times may also be required to help reduce the risk of crop injury if pest populations are high.
Spring time assessments help determine what impact winter and early spring conditions have had on the early season pests.
Harsh winters can have a large impact on bean leaf beetles for example, while grubs are well protected from extreme temperature fluctuations by hibernating below the frost line.
Spring scouting is also the best time to monitor for those pests that overwinter in the U.S. and migrate here in early spring (eg. black cutworm). Scouting prior to planting informs growers of field conditions that have increased their risk to pests. Some additional cultural control measures could be implemented or decisions made as to where to best target the insecticide seed treatments.
Fields found to be at low risk of the major soil insect pests can be targeted for planting fungicide-only treated seed in and experience little to no crop loss due to these insects.
The focus of this infosheet is how to use baits to find wireworm populations and how to dig and assess for grubs and some of the key root feeding pests.
The Guide to Early Season Field Crop Pests http://gfo.ca/Production/Production-Resources provides additional information on how to scout for other soil insects.
Visit http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/crops/scout-pest-field.htm for full article.
HOUSE FLY CONTROL IN POULTRY BARNS
OMAFRA has developed a new book, House Fly Control in Poultry Barns, that describes integrated pest management practices for fly control. It outlines ways that you can tailor fly control strategies to match your unique farming situation.
Poultry operations provide an ideal environment for house fly populations to thrive. Controlling the house fly population in your poultry barns is important in maintaining a healthy barn environment, as:
– Large fly populations can damage equipment and increase biosecurity risk.
– Large fly populations can decrease poultry production.
– Flies can act as carriers of food-borne diseases, carrying bacteria such as Salmonella and E. coli from one location to another.
Controlling house fly populations can also reduce nuisance complaints from your neighbours.
Visit ontario.ca/cca2 to download a PDF version of the book. Or order free copies from Service Ontario at ontario.ca/publications or 1-800-668-9938.
Contact the Agricultural Information Contact Centre at 1-877-424-1300 or ag.info.omafra@ontario.ca for more information on pest management, normal farm practices and poultry farming.
COMING EVENTS
Dec. 4 – Wellington County Soil and Crop Improvement Association Annual Meeting. Alma Bible Church. Register by Nov. 27 by calling Linda McFadden at 519-362-2094 or email linda.mcfadden@wightman.ca.
